Trade War

Will Trump’s Tariffs Trigger A Second Great Depression?

April 12, 2025 Jon Jeter, Black Agenda Report. Educate! Donald Trump, Finance and the Economy, Great Depression, Tariffs, Trade War, Trump Administration

That the Trump administration’s trade war will trigger a steep economic downturn in the U.S. is almost a foregone conclusion a week after the president announced sweeping new tariffs on imports. Last week, JP Morgan, the nation’s largest bank, estimated that there is a 60 percent chance of an imminent recession. That was followed by an announcement from Goldman Sachs, America’s second-largest investment bank, that its economists had raised the odds of a recession to 45 percent, representing the second time in a week that it has increased its forecast.

China Retaliates With 84% Tariff As Trump’s Trade War Escalates

April 10, 2025 Abdul Rahman, People's Dispatch. Educate! China, Donald Trump, Finance and the Economy, Tariffs, Trade War

On Wednesday, April 9, Trump announced that he is raising the tariffs on China to 125%. Earlier that day, China raised its tariff on all American imports to 84% in response to the US raising the total tariffs on Chinese exports to 104% on Monday. The new rates will be effective from Thursday, the Chinese state council said in a brief statement. China also issued a white paper on Wednesday about its trade relations with the US. Published on the same day that Donald Trump’s so-called “reciprocal tariffs” regime went into effect, the white paper refutes his claims of a massive trade deficit with China.

China Could Quickly Strangle American Tech With Metals Cutoff

March 10, 2025 Kurt Cobb, Resilience. Educate! China, Donald Trump, Metals, minerals, Tariffs, Tech industry, Trade War, Trump Administration

There’s no telling exactly where the Trump administration’s trade war is going as the president authorizes tariffs and then quickly suspends them, only to authorize them again and suspend them again or provide waivers for certain industries. While tariffs on narrowly defined categories of goods to guard against unfair competition may be workable, the administration’s shotgun approach to tariffs risks a cutoff of strategic minerals that could strangle America’s tech industry. As I’ve written before, the United States is dangerously dependent on other countries for a wide-ranging list of metals and, in some cases, completely dependent.

Trump’s Trade War Escalates, Canada Responds With Retaliatory Tariffs

March 6, 2025 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. Resist! auto industry, Canada, China, Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, Mexico, Tariffs, Trade War, United States

Trump’s trade war against the US’s neighbors Mexico and Canada, as well as China, continues with sweeping tariffs on the three countries going into effect just after midnight on Tuesday, March 4. A 25% tariff was added on all imports from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on imports from China. On March 5, Trump granted a one-month exemption on imports from Mexico and Canada for US automakers, following a conversation with the three largest auto manufacturers in the country: Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, according to an announcement by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Other levies remain in place.

Trump Provides An Opportunity To Change The Way We Look At Food

February 23, 2025 Lois Ross, Rabble. Create! Canada, Donald Trump, Finance and the Economy, Food and Agriculture, Tariffs, Trade War

As the political and economic instability created by the goings-on south of the border continue, it is time for all of us to recall how we arrived at this juncture. It is also time to acknowledge that, despite common belief, there has never really been “free” trade with the United States, but rather only a series of measures that have encouraged the unhealthy integration of the Canadian economy into that of our southern neighbours and the ensuing enrichment and concentration of wealth in the hands of transnational corporate giants. Throughout these so-called free trade agreements (FTA, FTAA, NAFTA, CUSMA) the US has often filed unfair trade practice complaints that have led to international trade dispute panels.

Mexico And Canada Hit Back, China Pulls Punches On Trump’s Tariffs

February 3, 2025 Erin Hale and John Power, Al Jazeera. Educate! Canada, China, Donald Trump, Mexico, Tariffs, Trade War, World Trade Organization

Within hours of United States President Donald Trump announcing tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico over the weekend, his Canadian and Mexican counterparts hit back with their own levies on US goods. The response from China, Washington’s biggest strategic rival, was notably more restrained. China’s Ministry of Commerce did not announce specific tariffs in its response on Sunday, stating only that it would take “corresponding countermeasures to firmly safeguard its rights and interests”. The ministry also said it would challenge the tariffs at the World Trade Organization, a largely symbolic measure since its appellate body has been non-functioning since late 2019 due to Washington’s refusal to support the appointment of new judges.

Canada Tariffs: Trudeau Hits Back Against Trump With 25% Levy

February 2, 2025 Michael Race, BBC. Educate! Canada, Donald Trump, Tariffs, Trade War

Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs against the US, in a move that marks the beginning of a trade war between the neighbouring countries. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set out "far-reaching" tariffs of 25%, affecting 155bn Canadian dollars' worth ($106.6bn; £86bn) of American goods ranging from beer and wine, to household appliances and sporting goods. The move matches US President Donald Trump 25% levy on Canadian and Mexican imports to the US - and an additional 10% on China - over his concerns about illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

While The US Provokes Chaos, China Promotes Economic Development

December 15, 2024 Radhika Desai, Michael Hudson and Mick Dunford, Geopolitical Economy. Resistance Report China, Trade War, United States, Western imperialism

While the United States provokes conflicts across the world, China has promoted economic development, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, building infrastructure, and encouraging win-win cooperation. Political economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson are joined by Beijing-based scholar Mick Dunford to discuss the significance of the 75th anniversary of the Chinese revolution. In this episode of Geopolitical Economy Hour, Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson are joined by Beijing-based scholar Mick Dunford to discuss the significance of the 75th anniversary of the Chinese revolution.

Why America’s Economic War On China Is Failing

October 9, 2020 Vijay Prashad and John Ross, Globetrotter. Educate! China, New Cold War, Trade War, United States

U.S. President Donald Trump—supported by most of the U.S. establishment—deepened the U.S. government’s assault on the Chinese economy. The “trade war” seemed to play well with Trump’s political base, who somehow hoped that an economic attack on China would miraculously create economic prosperity for them. In 2018, Trump slapped tariffs on more than $200 billion worth of various Chinese goods. Then, Trump’s administration went after Chinese high-tech firms such as Huawei, ZTE, ByteDance (the owners of TikTok), and WeChat.

US-China Trade War In Jeopardy Over Uyghur And Hong Kong Support

December 9, 2019 Steven Sahiounie, Mideastdiscourse.com Educate! China, Hong Kong, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Trade War, Uyghurs

The Uyghur people are an ethnic group of Muslims in western China and they speak the ancient Turkic language, which is the root of the modern Turkish language. Their province is Xinjiang, and their capital city is Urumqi. China is a huge country, and to keep peace and harmony all ethnicities work together, and while respecting each other’s rights, they live as one people, like America. Recently, both US President Trump and the US House have made dramatic accusations against the Chinese government on sensitive domestic policies involving counter-terrorism measures and domestic safety issues.

Propaganda Intensifies Trade War With China

May 20, 2019 Staff, Moonofalabama.org Educate! China, Propaganda, Trade War, United States

U.S. propaganda is always pointing to one person that solely cases everything and therefore deserves all the hate. It once was Saddam, Saddam , Saddam. Then Ghadaffi, Ghadaffi, Ghadaffi, Assad, Assad, Assad, Putin, Putin, Putin. Now it is Xi, Xi, Xi. In the real word hardly any person leading a state has as much power as such villainizing propaganda tries to make one believe. Countries have interests that define their policies through processes that are often incomprehensible to the cursory observer.

A US-China Trade War ‘Armistice’?

December 5, 2018 By Jack Rasmus, Zcomm.org Educate! China, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Tariffs, Trade War, United States

The first reports emerging from the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires today, December 2, 2018, are that Trump and Xi have agreed to put their trade war on hold, a kind of ‘trade war armistice’, at least for the next 90 days. Trump entered into his meeting this past weekend with China’s president, Xi, having imposed $50 billion in tariffs at 25% on China goods imports last July, to which another $200 billion was added thereafter. Tariffs on the $200 billion were set at 10%, but were scheduled to rise to 25% on January 1, 2019. Before the US November elections, Trump further threatened to add a further $267 billion if China continued to refuse to meet with the US.

Mexico-US-Canada NAFTA Trade Agreement Reached–Trump’s Phony Trade War Confirmed!

October 2, 2018 Staff, Jackrasmus.com Educate! Canada, Fair Trade, Mexico, NAFTA, Trade War, US Imperialism

As with So. Korea, an early look at the Mexico-US deal late last week showed token changes on autos and steel. No tariffs, just phony quotas on car imports to US. (Trump has recently also quietly exempted other big steel importers to the US (Brazil, etc. from the 25% tariffs he announced last March). Mexico deal details will show few if any tariffs, some quotas well above current actual levels so they have no effect, and the US-Trump backing off the threat to change how disputes are resolved over trade issues. Trump essentially agreeing to the Mexico (and Canada) positions that no changes should be made to the past process. Mexico has apparently not agreed to slow imports of autos and steel to the US. Just to raise North American auto parts content to 75% from 62.5%, and to raise Mexican auto workers wages to $16/hr. (but only on 40% of Mexican auto workers)!

Trade War Is About Asserting US Dominance Not Helping Workers

July 15, 2018 By David M. Kotz, Jacobin Educate! Corporate Trade, Trade, Trade War

President Trump slaps tariffs on imports from many of the US’s traditional allies, condemning their leaders for unfair treatment. The mainstream media warns of the erosion of the global order. President Trump threatens, and then imposes, high tariffs on Chinese products and other restrictions on trade relations with China. ZTE corporation, a leading state-owned, high-tech company in China, is barred on national security grounds from importing US-made components that are essential to their products. Then the ZTE action is reversed, leading some Democratic senators to denounce Trump for going soft on China. Whose side should we be on, if any, in this burgeoning trade war?

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